Four prisoners who broke out of the Puerto Vallarta State Penitentiary during last Sunday’s military operation against Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) leader “El Mencho” have been captured, the Security Ministry reported Thursday, while 19 other escapees remain at large.
On Sunday, amid the chaos that erupted across Jalisco state after El Mencho’s killing, 23 inmates escaped. Most had been imprisoned for serious crimes, including homicide, drug trafficking, aggravated robbery and possession of firearms and ammunition restricted to the Mexican Army. They hailed mainly from the states of Nayarit and Jalisco.
Autoridades federales encabezadas por SEMAR detuvieron a 4 de los 23 reos evadidos del Centro Penitenciario Estatal de Puerto Vallarta el 22 de febrero. Recaptura en El Colorado, Jalisco; investigaciones continúan para localizar a los 19 restantes tras fuga violenta. pic.twitter.com/RXFumOrbo9
— DK 1250 (@dk1250) February 26, 2026
Local reports attributed Sunday’s mass escape to outside help, with a group of armed assailants opening fire and ramming one or two vehicles into the prison walls, opening a breach for the breakout.
“Four people who escaped from the Puerto Vallarta State Penitentiary on February 22 were apprehended” following an operation led by the Mexican Navy, investigative personnel and the Security Cabinet, Security Minister Omar García Harfuch, wrote on the social media platform X on Thursday.
The Public Security Ministry (SSCP) began to gather intelligence and conduct field operations immediately on Sunday. It attained warrants and launched inter-institutional and immigration alerts, as well as strengthened coordination with state authorities to track routes, points of interest and possible hiding places for the escapees.
García Harfuch credited the quick actions for the capture of the four escapees in the town of El Colorado, within the Puerto Vallarta municipality.
Following Sunday’s violence, Puerto Vallarta is steadily moving toward normality (save for the presence in the vicinity of 19 violent escaped prisoners). An elevated number of police and military personnel are still deployed across the city.
Still, Jalisco state’s “Code Red” status was lifted on Tuesday, meaning that highways are now fully open, airport operations are increasing, businesses have reopened across the city and many tourist activities have resumed.
With reports from La Jornada
